The Hinderers of Spreading Mercy

The first thing we read in the Quran is:

﴿بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ﴿١﴾ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ ﴿٢﴾ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ﴿٣﴾ ﴾

In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. [All] praise be to Allāh, Lord of the worlds, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

“...The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.” The first thing you start the Quran with: “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful”. Subḥān-Allāh.

And Allah subḥānahū wa taʿālā is All-Knowing, so if we combine knowledge and mercy, we know that if a revelation from Allah comes to us, then there are ways of mercy in it that we do not know.

Now if I were merciful and you were merciful, but I were more knowledgeable than you, that means that I would know ways of mercy that you do not know. And to Allah belongs the utmost example of perfection.

That is why if you read the story of Moses and Al-Khidr, you will find that Moses and Al-Khidr agreed on the principles, but there are aspects of mercy that the Prophet of Allah Moses did not understand because Al-Khidr was more knowledgeable about them than he was, since he was taught about them by Allāh subḥānahū wa taʿālā.

Today, some people think that they are merciful and tolerant, but in reality they are destroying mercy and tolerance, and are driving people away from mercy.

Some people exaggerated in excusing Ahl al-Fatrah (i.e. the people of the interval between prophets when ignorance is the general state of people) or in excusing the disbelievers, so they started saying that Ahl al-Fatrah were saved and that the people who did not receive the message were basically saved. So, a strong objection occurred to many people’s minds, which is that if the people before the message were saved, and if they were negligent and did not seek to hear the message, they are also saved, then it is better for the people not to receive the message. Therefore, the message is no longer a mercy, but rather a curse! Because before the message, all of them were in Paradise, but after the message, some of them will disbelieve and enter Hell, and some of them will accept the message and enter Paradise. In fact, this argument is wrong, as the narrations state that Ahl Al-Fatrah will be tested on the Day of Judgment, so some of them will be saved and some of them won’t. This is in principle.

Secondly, not all ignorance is an excuse. There is ignorance that arises from negligence, in which case the ignorant person is not excused. And there is ignorance that arises from inability, in which case the person falls under the ruling of Ahl al-Fatrah.

Today, some people have started to talk with this expansive excuse-making attitude until they have discouraged people from calling to Islām, and people have started to say: “Wallahi, it is better not to call people to Islām, we fear that if we call them, the proof will be established against them, and if the proof is established against them and they are stubborn, they will enter Hell…” So this person who thinks he is merciful, in reality is discouraging people from spreading mercy!

Also, the new argument that appeared, which As-Samhūri tweeted, stating that “The disbelievers are excused. Why is that? Well, because the Muslims are weak!” This means that Muslims must be stronger so that the proof can be established against the disbelievers. So it is better for the disbelievers that Muslims do not become strong, because of the weakness of Muslims, all disbelievers will go to heaven, or their chances of salvation are greater, so let the Muslims remain weak! Therefore, the message is no longer mercy, nor is its spread mercy.

If we pray to Allah to have mercy on a disbeliever, it is as if we are telling another disbeliever, “Stay as you are!” When we pardon a thief, for example, and do not impose on him the punishment he deserves according to the Book of Allāh subḥānahū wa taʿālā, it is as if we are saying to the other thief, “No worries! Make yourself comfortable!”

In fact, the logic that “since the people of truth are weak by the standards of this world, their words are not accepted” is - if it is correct to call it that - the logic of the idolaters! This is the logic of the disbelievers:

﴿فَقَالَ ٱلْمَلَأُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن قَوْمِهِۦ مَا نَرَىٰكَ إِلَّا بَشَرًا مِّثْلَنَا وَمَا نَرَىٰكَ ٱتَّبَعَكَ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ أَرَاذِلُنَا بَادِىَ ٱلرَّأْىِ وَمَا نَرَىٰ لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا مِن فَضْلٍۭ بَلْ نَظُنُّكُمْ كَـٰذِبِينَ ﴿٢٧﴾ ﴾

So the eminent among those who disbelieved from his people said, ‘We do not see you but as a man like ourselves, and we do not see you followed except by those who are the lowest of us [and] at first suggestion. And we do not see in you over us any merit; rather, we think you are liars.’

What did Pharaoh say?

﴿فَقَالُوٓا۟ أَنُؤْمِنُ لِبَشَرَيْنِ مِثْلِنَا وَقَوْمُهُمَا لَنَا عَـٰبِدُونَ ﴿٤٧﴾ ﴾

They said, ‘Should we believe two men like ourselves while their people are for us in servitude?’

And what did the disbelievers say?

﴿وَقَالُوا۟ لَوْلَا نُزِّلَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانُ عَلَىٰ رَجُلٍ مِّنَ ٱلْقَرْيَتَيْنِ عَظِيمٍ ﴿٣١﴾ ﴾

And they said, ‘Why was this Qur’ān not sent down upon a great man from [one of] the two cities?’

So the status of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not please them, and the people of Shuʿaib saw him as weak among them:

﴿وَلَوْلَا رَهْطُكَ لَرَجَمْنَـٰكَ ﴾

And had it not been for your family, we would have stoned you.

﴿وَلَآ أَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ تَزْدَرِىٓ أَعْيُنُكُمْ لَن يُؤْتِيَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ خَيْرًا ۖ ٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا فِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ ۖ إِنِّىٓ إِذًا لَّمِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ ﴿٣١﴾ ﴾

Nor do I say of those upon whom your eyes look down that Allāh will never grant them any good. Allāh is most knowing of what is within their souls. Indeed, I would then be among the wrongdoers.

This is what the Prophet Nūḥ said to his people.

There is no doubt that the person behind this statement says that there is no such thing as an Islāmic state. There is no doubt that they have become ashamed of Jihād aṭ-Ṭalab, i.e. offensive Jihād. Jihād aṭ-Ṭalab is beneficial to people because it brings them closer to Islām. They are not excused before they are fought and the Muslims defeat them. They are not excused at all. But it is from the mercy of Allāh subḥānahū wa taʿālā, that He commanded the Muslims to increase their clarification and increase their conveying of the message. So if they defeat these people and these people come under their rule, this will make the chances of guidance greater, because many people are prevented from entering Islām by fear for their position, money, prestige, or family. So if the authority is in the hands of the good people, they will compensate them for this, so they are more inclined to do the right thing. And for this reason the choice remains in their hands, especially concerning the People of the Book. But are they excused before that? No, they are not excused, but the Lord of the Worlds establishes the arguments and clarifies them.

Those who speak in this manner always forget an important thing, which is the fact that non-Muslims have beliefs, and these beliefs are already distorted in themselves regardless of anyone actively trying to distort them – knowing that no messenger or prophet came except that his message was distorted – they are distorted in themselves, they contain self-contradictions and things that contradict the Fiṭrah (i.e. nature)... So, Islām is not the only one in the dock or in the line of fire. So, why is their criticism directed against Islām and not directed against what they have? [Allah says:]

﴿وَٱلَّذِينَ جَـٰهَدُوا۟ فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا ﴾

And those who strive for Us - We will surely guide them to Our ways.

The truth is that many of these people have the philosophy of the miser. What is the problem with the miser? Now you see miserly people – this is a well-known trait – you find a person who keeps hoarding money [for a long time] and has a lot of money yet its effect does not appear on him at all. He appears as the poorest ever, but he is one of the richest ever. What is the problem with the miser? How does the miser think? The miser has a problem: the end was turned into a means and the means into an end. Money is originally a means for a person to spend and obtain his needs, and even luxuries, in terms of food, clothing, housing, entertainment and so on, as well as maintaining family ties and charity for religious people who care about these things. As for the miser, he collects money for the sake of money, so the end has become a means and the means has become an end. Also some people, [are as if they were saying]: “I want to make people love Islām by making them lose interest in it.” “I want to show people the mercy of Islām by making them lose interest in believing in this mercy and practicing it in real life and accepting it.” “I want to reach power as a Muslim by giving up my faith.” This is like a person – and this is an example I always give – this is like a person who has dough that he wanted to bake, but he did not have an oven, so they said to him: “You need an oven to bake your dough.” So he sold the dough and bought an oven! And so are those who struggle for a cause, which gained a lot of its momentum due to religious significance. He will say to you: “The Al-Aqsa Mosque!” ​​What is its name? “The Mosque”. What is the function of the mosque? People pray in it. Why do they pray in it?

﴿وَمَا خَلَقْتُ ٱلْجِنَّ وَٱلْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ ﴿٥٦﴾ ﴾

And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.

Why do they pray in it? For Allāh subḥānahū wa taʿālā. The one who prays, why does he pray? He wants Paradise. This one who prays, if he disbelieves, his work will be in vain..! Then this cause of “the Al-Aqsa Mosque” – as they worded it – is transformed into a cause for which we say that the one who supports this Al-Aqsa Mosque, whether he prays or not, whether he believes or not, is a good person, or a person who has been forgiven, or a person who will enter Paradise. Therefore, we have turned the end into a means and the means into an end.

You see, the whole world is a means to achieve servitude to Allāh subḥānahū wa taʿālā, and for this reason the fundamental criterion by which people will be treated on the Day of Judgment is faith. Even good deeds are always mentioned after faith, and good deeds are part of faith.

Monotheism, as a good deed, is not nullified by any bad deed except polytheism and disbelief. As for other good deeds, polytheism nullifies them.

﴿لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ ﴾

If you should associate [anything] with Allāh, your work would surely become worthless

You see, if a person were to be lenient with criminals until the criminals dared to commit their crimes and harm the innocent, would that be merciful? Or would he have gone too far in mercy until he negated it? For this reason:

﴿فِى ٱلْقِصَاصِ حَيَوٰةٌ ﴾

there is [saving of] life in legal retribution.

And just as there is life in legal retribution, so too in true takfīr there is faith and a call to faith!

Otherwise, what is the book that began with “the Most Gracious, Most Merciful” that contains:

﴿﴿١﴾ قُلْ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ ﴾

Say, ‘O you disbelievers’

and:

﴿لَا تَعْتَذِرُوا۟ قَدْ كَفَرْتُم بَعْدَ إِيمَـٰنِكُمْ ﴾

Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after your belief.

and:

﴿أَكَفَرْتَ بِٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكَ مِن تُرَابٍ ﴾

Have you disbelieved in He who created you from dust?

﴿لَّقَدْ كَفَرَ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ثَالِثُ ثَلَـٰثَةٍ ﴾

They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allāh is the third of three.’

This is from mercy, this is the speech of the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, this is because of His knowledge, subḥānahū wa taʿālā, He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful and also the All-Knowing, subḥānahū wa taʿālā, so when knowledge and mercy come together, things appear that a person might initially look at and see in them harshness and severity, but in the end, what is the result? Mercy!

That is why Ibn Taymiyyah has a beautiful saying, he says, “Dirt cannot be removed except by a kind of roughness, but that results in cleanliness and softness that are praised despite that roughness.” Dirty clothes in order to attain the highest degrees of softness and cleanliness, need some roughness. This is a good analogy.

Every humanist idea is similar to the philosophy of the miser. Allāh subḥānahū wa taʿālā created man to be a slave to Him. In fact he is a slave: since the moment when Allāh subḥānahū wa taʿālā created you, you are a slave. This is an inherent property that cannot be separated. And your dependence is inherent: the origin of your existence is dependent on Allāh subḥānahū wa taʿālā, so do not deny it.

Allah sent down the revelation, and taught us from His knowledge, and made subject to us whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, subjected to us everything so that we may know Him, subḥānahū wa taʿālā, and worship Him… But we got busy, and contemplating the creation of the heavens and the earth became merely “science” separated from the Omniscient! He placed mercy in our hearts, so that we may remember His mercy. He placed in our souls a love for justice so that we may remember His justice, and so that we may remember that:

﴿إِنَّ ٱلشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ ﴾

Polytheism is indeed a great injustice

The greatest injustice is polytheism! That is why whenever you see injustice before you in this life – that befalls a human being – remember the greatest injustice: Polytheism! Taking the Messiah and his mother as gods is the greatest injustice. When you see an innocent person being slandered, remember the slander of the slanderers against the Lord of the Worlds that He has a son and a wife. This is the greatest slander! And this is one of the greatest harms to the souls of the believing servants of Allah! This is why [as Allah says]:

﴿تَكَادُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِنْهُ وَتَنشَقُّ ٱلْأَرْضُ وَتَخِرُّ ٱلْجِبَالُ هَدًّا ﴿٩٠﴾ ﴾

The heavens almost rupture therefrom and the earth splits open and the mountains collapse in devastation

…from their great glorification of the Lord of the Worlds!

Don't you see today that when they glorify a journalist or glorify someone, as soon as a legal ruling is mentioned about him, they get angry?! Likewise, the heavens and the earth and the righteous believers get angry at what is said about their Creator. This is, in their view, the greatest insult.

Subḥān-Allāh !